Michael el Chayil

As you may know, Pesach is less than 30 days away. You know that either because (1) we are past Purim and Pesach is always 30 days after Purim, or (2) the most oft-heard phrase in your home is, "Aaaagh!!! Pesach is less than a month away!!! Aaaagh!!" (Number of exclamation points is based on estimates by someone who no longer has children at home. Your level of stress and urgency may vary.) You would think that the oven, which has been filled with hot chameitz all year and now needs to be a completely chametz-free zone, would be a  huge  stress point. Nope. Preparing the oven nowadays is an eerily calm island in a sea of frustration. That is because the very same heat that created the problem can now be used to solve it. The basic rule is the way the chameitz went in is how we take it out. Of course, since it is Pesach, we are way stringent. Besides that, we like to destroy the chameitz instead of just removing it (which has its own disposal and contamination issues; not ...

Now that we know what bracha to make on non-kosher food, as detailed in this TftD , we are ready to address the original-ish question. (It is only "-ish" because that question was about water, which gets a resounding "no," but the question of using non-kosher wine is still open.) But, first, a joke. A Jew is meeting with a non-Jew at the non-Jew's house while the non-Jew is having a snack of ham and wine. (The reaons for the meeting and why at the house of the non-Jew and why the non-Jew choose this moment to eat are all beyond the scope of this joke.) The non-Jew is cordial and offers the Jew some ham. "No thank you. We only eat kosher food." The non-Jew is a bit surprised (again, outside the scope of this joke), but still wants to be a good host. "Well, may I at least offer you some wine, then?" The Jew replies that we drink kosher wine. Now then non-Jew cannot contain himself, "So if there was only non-kosher food and wine available, ...

The discussion started with, "If one of the hostages in the tunnels found some water, could he use that to make kiddush?" The answer to that question is a definitive "No." You just can't make kiddush on water (Shulchan Aruch 272:9). The Mishna Brura refers us to 296:2, sk 10, and notes that you also may not use water for havdala, and that is true even if the primary beverage in your country is water; it is just not considered prestigious enough to use for kiddush. Even crazy expensive—apparently there are "extreme luxury" waters that go for more than 10k$ for a rivi'is—still can't use it to make kiddush. Okay... but all this got me thinking... what exactly are the rules regarding eating non-kosher food when one is in danger of dying without eating that food? When I started, I was pretty sure that one would not make kiddush using non-kosher wine. Using non-kosher wine or food just didn't seem appropriate for kiddush. I also wondered what bra...

When relating the story of Eliezer, the servant of Avraham, seeking a proper shidduch for Yitzchak, the Torah repeats the story four times: Eliezer tells us what he wants to happen, then the events unfold, then Eliezer tells Rivka's family what he wanted to happen, and then Eliezer tells Rivka's family what actually transpired (with some minor but quite significant modifications). On that, Rashi comments (B'reishis 24:42): Rabbi Acha said: The ordinary conversation of the servants of the Patriarchs is more beloved before the Omnipresent than the Torah of their sons, for the section dealing with Eliezer is repeated in the Torah, whereas many fundamentals of the Torah were given only through allusions. An example of one of those allusions is in this week's parasha, כי תשא. We have two full parashas and the beginning of a third that give all the details regarding construction of the mishkan, all its vessels, the vestments of the kohanim while working there, and the incense...

Maybe you have already heard... I find myself having particular difficulty not repeating myself. 30 years cancer free, ביום הזה ממש/on this very day. This very day, Purim, 30 years ago, the doctor called me at 4:00-ish PM to tell me that I was cured of cancer. Every year since then I have made my first s'udah on Purim in the morning (which the Rema says is just fine, 695:2, smart guy), and it doubles as a סעודת הודיה/meal to give thanks to the Creator. Oh, you'd like the back story? In Oct/Nov of 1996, I visited the doctor because I had bronchitis. We only had one car at the time, and my daughter was also under the weather, so I went to our family practitioner to make things easier. She, the doctor, diagnosed me with bronchitis—which I routinely got that time of year in Chicago—and prescribed a course of antibiotics. Usually that did the trick, but this time the illness hung on. Before going back to that doctor, I mentioned to a chaver of mine that I was seeing a woman doctor, ...

Some time ago, I found this cool olive oil store that imported the oil in the original casks. You bought at much as you wanted and paid for that amount. They also sold bottles in which you could take your oil home. Two issues: (1) I had to double-check the reliability of the hechsher (the oils were infused). (2) Did I have to buy the bottles, tovel them, and then bring them back to get the oil? On the second issue, I spoke with R' Fuerst. We discussed a few options, but at the conclusion, the dayan decided that I didn't need to tovel the bottle at all. How does that work? They want to sell me olive oil, but they need to put it into a container for me to get it home. So I buy the oil and tell them which container I want them to put it in. As far as I am concerned, I am only buying oil. They charge me a fee for the bottle, but I am never really buying the bottle. The bottle is still owned by the goy when it is filled with oil, and the bottle is בטול/completely secondary to the oi...

On 18 Tammuz, 5785 (July 14, 2025 for us gringos), I was studying folio 98 in Masechta Shabbos about the קרשים/planks of the mishkan. I know the date because my rebbi, R' Dovid Siegel, shlita, told me that it is very easy to fool oneself into thinking you understand something when learning without a chavrusa. Therefore, my rebbi told me to write down any and all questions and/or impressions I have while learning to keep myself as honest as possible. (Ok, ok... writing down the date was my own OC idea.) In any case, the Gemara there discusses the precise shape of the  קרשים/planks  and how they were loaded on the two carts. The common translation of עצי שיטים is "Acacia wood." It was way more detail than I expected—but, hey, it's Chazal—so I spent quality time on it. It just happened (uh-huh) that they were replacing some old telephone poles in the neighborhood when I was learning that topic (thank you, HaShem), and I determined that each  קרש/plank  was abo...

I believe I am not the only one who sometimes feels like no matter how he tries, it just doesn't go. I know כִּ֤י שֶׁ֨בַע יִפּ֣וֹל צַדִּ֣יק וָקָ֑ם/A tzadik falls seven times and gets up Which means that part of the process of becoming a tzadik is to fall. I get that. But let's do a calculation. Fall twice a day, times six days per week (I got Shabbos off), times 52 weeks per year, times 30 years comes to a grand total of just under 20k tumbles, give or take. Even if math is not your strong suit, that is pretty clearly more than 7.  Falling over and over again, though, kinda sounds like just constantly stumbling, as described at the end of that same verse: וּ֜רְשָׁעִ֗ים יִכָּשְׁל֥וּ בְרָעָֽה/and the evildoers will stumble upon evil I once asked my rebbi about what to do about constantly being a failure. He looked at me (always a warning sign) and asked why I thought I was a failure. I explained the situation to him. He asked, "Are you still alive?" "Umm... yes; th...

For many years now (decades, actually... wow!), we have been getting together with close friends on Shabbos after the vasikin minyan to make kiddush, have a bite to eat—sometimes just pastries, chips, and stuff, sometimes a full-blown s'uda. In any case, the one who makes kiddush has always sat for the kiddush ceremony. One week, he stood. Why he did that, what our response was—and what it should have been (our halachic response, I mean... we were all a bit taken by surprise), what the different parts of the kiddush service are, and why people do different things are all, b'ezras HaShem, topics we'll cover in this TftD. Strap in. The kiddush ceremonies on Friday night and Shabbos are somewhat different. Friday night fulfills a Torah obligation and is beautified with Rabbinic enhancements. We start with a declaration/testimony that HaShem created the world in six and then capped it all off with Shabbos, aka וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ. We then proceed with the actual kiddush blessing, which...

In English we have the term "pregnant pause," which means a deliberate, often long, and sometimes uncomfortable moment of silence in speech, acting, or conversation that is "full of" meaning, significance, or anticipation. There are also dramatic and poignant pauses, which are typically shorter. All three techniques can be used to build suspense (pregnant), add emphasis to the point just made  (dramatic) , and/or encourage introspection and allow the matter to be internalized (poignant). They can each be used for any of those effects; I just indicated the most usual flavor of pause used in each situation... in my humble opinion. The ellipsis in the preceding sentence was meant to convey a poignant pause and encourage the reader to form their own thoughts on the topic. All this is to make the communication more engaging. <Feel free to fill in your own thoughts here while I make myself a cup of coffee.> It is also possible for a pause to turn into an interruptio...

The C humash shiur given by  R' Schwimmer at the Tessler home each Friday night during the (extended) winter season is always filled with chidushim and gives me a new perspective on the parasha in particular and Chumash in general. Some shiurim, though, just "hit me where I live." R' Schwimmer gave us particularly deep insight into the machlokes brought by the ba'al hagada about whether there were 10, 40, or 50 plagues in Mitzrayim. Before that, though, we need some preliminaries. Chazal (and, in fact, ancient philosophy/science in general, beginning with the Greeks) talk about the four elements: fire, air, water, and earth. You may be thinking, "Hah! Those silly old fashioned thinkers! Now, of course, we know there are over 100 elements!" The fact that chemists -- who are just the modern incarnation of alchemists -- call those "elements" is no more impressive to me than what rabbis of the Reform Jewish Religion call Torah. In fact, the word ...

I decided when I added a full morning seder to my learning schedule, that I should put some time into learning the prophets. I have read (I wish I could say "learned", but... ) the so-called נביאים ראשונים/early prophets, so now it is time to dive into נביאים אחרונים/later prophets. I strive to be irritatingly consistent, so obviously I started in order from the beginning with ישעיה/Isaiah. My Hebrew is fairly good, so I opted to learn -- on the advice of one of the foremost authorities on Tanach in Chicago -- from the R' Kook series, which is an excellent guide in modern Hebrew by Orthodox sources. After trying for more than a year and making little progress, I admitted to myself that my Hebrew is just not that good and and now learning from the really, really excellent ArtScroll -- The Milstein Edition -- prophets, which includes Rashi, Metzuda, Radak, and a beautiful English elucidation. I am now making palpable progress. Since there are so many haftarahs are taken fro...

In the old days, I got most of my exercise by riding my bike to/from work four days a week. Then Covid hit, so I started just taking 10-12 mile rides at noon-ish just to keep up the exercise. Then winter would hit and I switched to treadmill. (I think "detest" is too strong a word for how I feel about walking on a treadmill, but only a bit too strong.) I often worked from home on Fridays, so I would walk to/from shul on Fridays to get some steps in. Now that I am learning and working close to home, I've decided to walk to/from shul everyday. During the winter? I bundle up and walk faster. When it snows? Boots. When it is icy... so that's where this starts. Not only have I been learning/davening at the same place, bli ayin hara, every morning for over 30 years, I have also been sitting next to the same dear friend for a good portion of that time. He is more or less used to me. Just to level set this. I am at shul in the mornings for about three hours each morning betwe...

We are currently in the Shovavim ( שובבי״ם ) period of the Jewish year. A time for introspection and change. The acronym comes from the first letter of the six parshios covering our enslavement in Mitzrayim through receiving the Torah. In these parshios, Paroh receives warning after warning from HaShem via His prophet Moshe Rabeinu. Paroh seems to just not get it. What is his problem? Why didn't he listen? Let's punctuate the answer to that question with a couple of fun stories. I moved to Chicago with my family just a few years before the turn of the century. (It was 1993 CE, actually,  but "turn of the century" sounds way cooler!) We moved here -- as newly Orthodox Jews -- to find a Jewish community that would nurture and support our continued growth in Torah and avodas HaShem. I was discussing how happy we are that we moved to Chicago with a good friend of mine who grew up in Chicago. He had a great way of summarizing what we have found: Chicago has everything New ...

The gabbai announced on Friday night, "Rabosai... tonight is the last night for Kiddush Levana." We generally don't say Kiddush Levana on Friday nights, for reasons explained in this OU daily halacha . The exception is when the last night to say Kiddush Levana is Friday night and you haven't yet had/taken the opportunity. That month was particularly difficult; clouds had obscured the moon most of the first two weeks of the month. I had, Baruch HaShem, managed to catch a beautiful, clear view of the moon earlier that week. It was bitter cold that night, but it looked like my only opportunity. One of the issues with saying Kiddush Levana on Friday night is that we are afraid someone might carry a siddur outside where there is no eruv. Exactly. Now, most people who daven at the Agudah know very well that R' Fuerst is quite outspoken about the fact that, besides the eiruvim between neighboring homes that many individuals have constructed, there is no kosher community ...

I grew up with this story: My father was a bit on the wild side, so he and his father decided he should enlist in the navy when he was 17. My grandmother was not thrilled, but also realized being on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Korea -- in spite of the, ahem , conflict -- was the best way to ensure my father's safety. She made two requests/demands of my father: "Don't get any tattoos and don't bring back a war bride." My father honored both. As a result, I never, ever, not even once, had any interest in getting a tattoo. The other morning, a person whom I am deeply honored to call a friend asked me about tattoos. You already know my feelings about tattoos, but he didn't. In any case, I told him the ink goes underneath the outer layer of skin (epidermis) -- which is dead and constantly being shed -- and is injected into the dermis -- not  the underlying muscle. That is why the ink doesn't rub off. I wasn't sure how the ink stayed there for so lo...

I had the following conversation with someone who doesn't know me very well on Jan 1 this year: Other guy 😁 Happy New Year! Me I thought we celebrated the new year a few months ago. Other guy 😐 Well, it is a day off. Me I am retired, so I don't get PTO. Other guy 🙄 So have a nice regular day. Me Thank you! That got me thinking about how goyim and Jews celebrate the new year. Goyish conduct: It's the end of the year. Work slows down. Traffic is light. No deadlines have been scheduled. Lots of holiday parties, culminating in an intense night of drinking and "loosening up" to celebrate making it to the end of the year. Party till midnight to be able to greet the very first second of the year with cheers and behaviors that would not be accepted the rest of the year. Then take off the first day of the new year at least exhausted and often hung over. Go back to work till next year's party. Repeat till old age or death wears you down. Yay. Jewish conduct: Spend th...

Catchy title, no? Now you have more insight into why I was a spectacular failure working for a marketing company. (I mean, besides  the fact that I consider marketing just the study of how to lie in the most efficient way to extract the most money from consumers. And, of course, I made no secret of my disdain while working for them.) On the other hand, I am quite good at mathematics. (No, not  arithmetic.. I have trouble balancing my checkbook.) How good am I at mathematics? Consider what is meant by a "continuous function." Basically it means a function (think line on a graph) that you can draw without lifting your pencil. You get it; no breaks or jumps. Of course, you could have a function that has some jumps/breaks; that would be called "piecewise continuous." So far, so good. I know (and can construct) a function that is continuous at only one point. Right... any point you choose except that one, to move from one point to the next would require lifting your penc...